"I apologize if anyone was confused by my original post,..."<p>In DC this is called the non-apology apology where you express regret for someone else's error.<p>The real apology version is: "I apologize for my [mistake|error|imprecision|lack-of-clarity]".<p>The Tylenol Scare showed that massive overcompensating action is how you recover from a PR hit (<a href="http://www.aerobiologicalengineering.com/wxk116/TylenolMurders/crisis.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.aerobiologicalengineering.com/wxk116/TylenolMurde...</a>). You cannot earn back goodwill with half-measures.
Hate Seth Godin all you want(at times I too cannot resist). Yet, some of the smartest people I've run into were mentored by him. In general, he <i>really</i> can teach how to connect with your users.
How is Brand in Public different from say Mahalo or even Squidoo. The content is similar: <a href="http://www.mahalo.com/home-depot" rel="nofollow">http://www.mahalo.com/home-depot</a><p>Is the problem people have with the fact that he's charging to give access to some of that content?<p>Also, this really reminds me of the local business scam MerchantCircle is running. They'll register a domain with your company name and aggregate content making a legit looking site which as you can imagine confuses a lot of people.
I'm taking this to mean that he received one or more cease and desists for using the company(s)' brand mark.<p>*The above statement is pure speculation.
"to join in to the conversation that's already happening all around us."<p>Of course, while the conversation is happening all around us, it would be impossible to join it without the help of a high paid PR consultant.
There is a need for this kind of brand management service. Remember that youTube video by two Domino's employees? However, the model to deliver this service needs to be thought through further.